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So on April 25th I joined a Paleo Challenge at my Crossfit box. I didn’t know too much about Paleo except it was based on what cavemen would eat during the Paleolithic era. I also was not sure how I would do since it prohibits dairy, any form of gluten, rice, soy, legumes, sugar, and corn which is basically what my daily intake consists of. But I’m down to try anything once and I have struggled loosing weight for the past 3 years. So as of April 25th I started eating Paleo.

What does the Paleo Diet consist of?

Grass fed meat, free range fowl and wild caught fish

Seasonal fruits and vegetables

Healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil

Not to bad right? Except I ate meat like MAYBE once a day, maybe a banana or strawberry here and there, and ate some veggies, mainly around dinner time. But I thought I was healthy. I have eaten organic/natural/local food for the past few years and haven’t had any fast food in 5 years. But I still was fat. Now that I look at it, all the food I consumed was carbs from gluten, rice, beans, etc. And I work from home all day which means I’m sitting on my butt most the time. No wonder I had a hard time loosing weight. I thought something was wrong with me… maybe a thyroid issue? Age? Years being on birth control? Hormones? I blamed it on everything. Even better, I started developing eczema on my face and haven’t been able to get rid of it. I tried everything, saw a dermatologist and dumped all my face products and makeup. Got all hypoallergenic and sensitive products. Yup… still had eczema.Fantastic… I started feeling hopeless and just wished that one day I would magically lose weight. Which did happen.. when I went Paleo.

The First Week

Did you know you can go through withdrawals when you cut carbs, dairy, and sugar? Well you do. First few days were hard, I had such a bad headache and just overall felt like crap. But our Cave Mama (Jennifer) warned us of this so I just hung on. I missed my Starbucks lattes hardcore. I was up to two a day before I went on this challenge. So even skipping a few days were hard. I also missed my grains, I usually would have oatmeal or cereal for breakfast, and then a sandwich for lunch. And cheese…. boy did I want some of that right then. But I hung on and kept going.

Second Week

Luckily Jennifer made a Facebook for all of us in the challenge and made a recipe FB. Did you know there is a Paleo alternative to all your favorite meals? Well there is and I’m finding they taste better than the real thing. Paleo Pancakes… AMAZING. I also started feeling better heath wise, no more sluggishness, no more bloat, and I didn’t have a food baby in my belly after I ate. Oh… guess what. I lost 6 pounds after the first week.

Third Week and Beyond

It didn’t take me long to get hooked on eating Paleo. I think waking up day after day with a flat belly was pretty amazing. I felt great… just felt clean and healthier. Another great thing, my face started clearing up. No more acne and hardly any eczema patches on my face. That felt good, it’s been a long time since my face has been totally clear. I started researching more about gluten and how horrible it is for you. After this, I think I definitely have a gluten intolerance. The bloat, stomach issues, eczema, etc all went away when I cut out gluten. Plus, I am just happy and I haven’t felt this good about myself in a long time.

The Facts

What you eat is pretty important. Just for example, April 1st – April 25th I Crossfitted 4x a week and only dropped maybe a pound. I’m not sure on inches since I didn’t track this at the time. I worked out hard, but then ate horrible also. I did get stronger, but I still was a bloated mess. All my working out wasn’t doing anything since I was sabotaging it with food. But after April 25th… things start changing.

1st Week: Lost 6 Pounds

4 Weeks: Lost 9 Pounds and 8.75 inches

6 Weeks: Lost 10 pounds and 13.25 inches

June 3rd, 2011 our Paleo Challenge ended. And guess what…

I won 3rd place! Weee!!! Out of 42 participants there were 4 female winners and 4 males. I would post our group photo, but not sure if they want to be on my blog haha.

What Did I Win?

Well besides $100 dollars in prize money, I won my life back. I have clear skin. No more food babies or stomach aches. I have muscles and a toned body. I get on the scale and I keep dropping weight and keep loosing inches. I won clothes that have sat in my skinny section of my closet for 3 years that I haven’t been able to fit into.

Yes, that is my ass fitting into size 26 jeans that I haven’t been able to get into for years. My size 2 shorts are fitting quite nicely also and are even getting a little loose.. thank you very much.

So what now?

Am I going to go back to eating what I did before? Oh Hell No. I feel great, why would I give that up? I may be crazy but not that crazy. Shopping for new clothes and feeling good about myself is too good to give up. My workouts have been great and I can feel myself changing every day. We went on vacation recently and it was my first vacation I went to without feeling horrible afterward and gaining 5 pounds. Why? I ate Paleo the entire time and it was easy. A lot of people think doing this is hard, and it’s not. Everywhere you go you can order Paleo if you have to eat out. Be that person, ask for no bread, order extra veggies, hold the cheese. It’s easy. Restaurants don’t mind, trust me I used to work at one. It’s cook to order for a reason. You may get some crazy looks, but screw them. You feel great and they don’t.

Thinking about going Paleo?

Well you should. I plan to turn this blog more into that direction so you will see changes here. I still am a major foodie, that will never change. So I will be posting recipes, information, etc on here. Think you can go Paleo but don’t want to give everything up? Check out Primal. They’re very similar to eating Paleo but allow some more things such as cheese. You can get great results with that also. Plus internet is a wonderful thing. You can find out tons of information and recipes, just google it. Don’t forget to come back to my blog for information, along with all the other random entertaining (or not) stuff I post.

Crossfit: If you don’t Crossfit, you really should. You can check out my first experience here, I have gone on a regular basis for almost 3 months now and am in love with it.

I would love to hear about your experience about Paleo or feel free to ask questions. Please check back too because I am going to start posting recipes and resources of where to find Paleo food in Arizona (if you are local). Start doing something for you… you are worth it.

Comments (17 comments)

Absolutely incredible transformation Alicia!!! Congrats on that and taking your life back!!

I am at day 43 now, and am down 25 lbs and many inches lost myself, and WILL NEVER go back!! I have also created a blog and fb page and I'd love for you to check out my story too, and i'll be checking back on your blog as you have a lot of good info here

Awesome work!! It is so much fun to see more and more adopt this lifestyle and cure their ailments and change their life!!

I am currently doing crossfit myself..Ive always been an athlete my whole life but when I got out of high school I just kinda stopped everything. I gain about 30-35lbs, but Crossfit has helped me realized a lot with food and exercising. I too have a problem losing weight, but I dont eat crappy foods that often. My Crossfit is looking into Paleo, and I cant wait if you have results like that..WOW! I can only imagine my results. Congrats on everything and keep up the good work!

This post was very inspiring! I am starting paleo today and I am giving myself a 30 day challenge. I’d like to start crossfit, but it is SO expensive, so I think I might set up a home gym and do it in my garage.

Let me know how your challenge goes! I know you will pleased with the results Just hang in there especially the first week when you go through carb withdrawals. Check out crossfit.com they post daily WODs and you don’t need to join anything I know a lot of people who just sign up to a cheap general gym and then follow the workouts on that website. Good Luck and keep me posted

I’ve done so good today-resisted cinnamon rolls, macaroni and cheese, and in n out…without a problem…but it’s late now and I’m really wanting something sweet! I won’t do it, though. I’ll be talking about it on my blog (thebaboo.com) and I MIGHT post before/after pictures…depending on how good the after pictures look, haha, because the before pictures were NOT fun to take.

When I wanted something sweet, I just ate some fruit or made some paleo treats I’ll take a look at your blog and make sure you take pictures even if you don’t post them because it really helps make the difference

I agree with your trainer! I have seen a lot of vegans/vegetarians switch to Paleo for that exact reason. They just weren’t going anywhere with their current diet. Yup, still eating paleo My husband does to and we are expecting our first baby next month and we plan to raise her paleo too! Check back on the blog for sure since I’ll be writing about raising our family on paleo

First, thanks for all your awesome recipes and information on the Paleo diet. Today is my second day in and I’m still adjusting. I have finally realized this is not going to be as easy as I thought, since I love my granola and milk in the morning, sandwiches at lunch, and it doesn’t help that the best ice cream parlor in town is two blocks away. I am already feeling so much better and cant wait for the outcome of less stomach pains, and a clearer head. I have a massive craving to sugar and just want to overcome that addiction! Question: does the diet include anything bakery made that is “Gluten Free” if i decide to consume them? Thanks for your blog!

What are your daily meals like? I thought I was eating paleo ( I have been making sure everything I eat is on the paleo food list ). I crossfit 4 times a week, plus I play soccer 3 times a week. I am into week 2 of my paleo diet and I haven’t lost a thing. I don’t know what I am doing wrong??

I have been heavy the majority. Of my life…I lost close to 50 pounds 3 years ago and I gained 30 back …I recently lost 26 pounds and within 2 1/2 months. Back up to 213.I don’t know why I am depressed, have acne problems, always in a bad mood….I just started the Paleo diet today (5/7/13)…but I am seeing. A lot about Crossfit, we don’t have anything like that here…Are people losing weight and inches by doing other exercises….I am so excited to start this diet especially since I have lots of new clothes that I have never fit into …I am going to need lots of encouragement …..

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Welcome to my blog! My name is Alicia and I am a happily married mom with toddler and a baby on the way. I love blogging about our adventures as a married couple, parents, and more. Thank you for visiting and hope to see you back soon.